Local tour operator scoops SIX awards, travel and tourism talent in the North West shines brightly, cruise operator takes home award for first time and Special Achievement Award presented to someone outside NI for first time ever
THE 30th Northern Ireland Travel & Tourism Awards in association with Blue Insurance took place on Friday October 14 in a glittering ceremony at the iconic Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle with local tour operator Travel Solutions and the North West of the Province taking home the most accolades. Travel Solutions won a total of six awards. The
entire team were named Best Ski Operator, Best Specialist Operator, Best Escorted Tours Operator and Best Sales Support Team to the NI Travel Trade with Robert Wilson being named Travel
Trade
Manager/Representative of the Year and Managing Director Peter McMinn being added to the NI Travel & Tourism Industry’s Roll of Honour. The North West shone brightly as it showed off
its travel and tourism talent. Limavady Travel picked up the award for Travel Agent of the Year, while Karen Henderson from Visit Derry was awarded the Northern Ireland Special Achievement Award. This year’s Travel Student of the Year was Holly Barrie- Herron from the North West Regional College. Another notable win at this year’s awards is cruise
line NCL. Vice President for International Business Eamonn Ferrin, a native of West Belfast, was presented with the Northern Ireland Industry Award while the cruise line itself picked up the award for Best Cruise Line, a first for the company. In another first, this year the Northern Ireland
Special Award went to someone outside Northern Ireland – Advantage Travel’s Julia Lo Bue-Said. Julia’s efforts to highlight the plight of the Travel Industry throughout the pandemic has been unmatched
and she continues to push for a joint approach for industry support. Last year’s Travel and Tourism Awards reflected the truly unprecedented time the industry has gone through, but this year guests were invited to celebrate the fantastic achievements of the travel and tourism industry with us in style and most importantly, make some great memories! Last year there were many changes made to the
awards, a reflection of the tough challenges the industry has faced. This year however, the Awards returned to the original categories and brought back some very important awards including; Travel Consultant of the Year, Travel Trade Representative of the Year and Travel Student of the Year. Judging for the Travel Student of the Year took place in the Europa Hotel in front of a panel of industry experts. Thanks goes to our expert judging panel, Sandra Corkin, Oasis Travel; Brenda Morgan, City of Derry Airport; James McGinn, Hastings Hotels, Diane Poole, Titanic Distillers and Kirsty Johnston, NI Travel News. All this year’s student nominees were extremely talented and showed excellent promise for their future careers in the travel and tourism industries. Over the last few years, the Awards has grown
from strength to strength with the continued support of headline sponsor Blue Insurance. Jonathan Adair of NI Travel News, organisers of
the Awards said: “The 30th anniversary of the Awards was a truly memorable evening. Over the past 30
years the awards have raised the standard across our industry. It is incredible to see the achievements of the industry this year and a pleasure to bring our industry back together in more positive times.” This years Awards ceremony was once again hosted by local comedian Paddy Raff. With his sell-out UK stage shows, national TV show and the frequent production of viral content on social media, he is one of the biggest names on the current comedy scene. This
year’s celebrations kicked off with a
Champagne drinks reception, hosted by Dublin Airport where guests were welcomed by a ceremonial piper, courtesy of Loganair.
Later in the evening, Re-Take That took to the main
stage, while Fusion entertained guests into the wee hours in the bar. The evenings entertainment (and the late night pizzas) were provided by Jet2holidays. Hospitality was sponsored by Tourism Ireland with a fantastic ‘A Taste of Ireland’ menu. Wines on the evening were courtesy of George Best Belfast City Airport. The sponsors for the 2022 Awards and Ceremony
were: Blue Insurance, Stena Line, Travel Solutions, Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa, Silversea, British Airways, George Best Belfast City Airport, Jet2holidays, Tourism Ireland, Titanic Distillers and NI Travel News.
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